3 Tips to Focus on Addition with your Nutrition
My philosophy with nutrition can be summarized into one word: addition.
I firmly believe that it is essential to focus on what we want to add into our nutrition and lifestyles to feel our best: fully nourished, calm, grounded, energized and healthy.
Far too often, the first thing someone does when they decide to focus on their nutrition or health is look at what to take away. Enter food rules, rigidity and restriction. The entire journey becomes about loss, and no one can sustain that! This mentality is a huge piece of why we have all experienced countless times going on and off of food plans, protocols and diets.
As a nutritionist, my goal is to help teach my clients how to find what feels good. I teach gentle nutrition within the Binge Eating Recovery Program and with this approach my clients begin to learn how to nourish their bodies, balance their plates, and honour their hunger cues. They focus on what to add in, never what to take away. And I think anyone who has commited to this journey will tell you that what you focus on grows. Focus on feeling good, nourished, full and satisfied and you will find that what you crave, and reach for shifts, and yes, those binges will begin to shift as well.
When you are so focused on what not to have, that becomes all you can think about! If you have already been there and done that with rules and restrictions, I invite you to explore an addition approach to your nutrition instead.
3 Tips to Create an Addition Nutrition Mindset:
Focus on what to add in, not what to take away.
It is really important to keep your focus on the positives.
What foods do you want to add onto your plate to help keep you more full and satisfied?
Are there any healing nutrients you are hoping add into your diet more regularly?
Do you hope to consume more fruits and veggies or more proteins and fats?
Are there any foods you have been restricting that you want to re-integrate and normalize?
Notice how these foods make you feel when you add them in and look towards incorporating them into whatever other foods and meals you enjoy.
I love salad and smoothies. They make me feel amazing. I also love pizza and ice cream. I enjoy them all, often within the same day. Having a salad does not mean I need to restrict other foods I enjoy. Eating dessert does not mean I have “ruined” an otherwise healthy meal. All food fit and the calm I feel around food and the increased enjoyment I have within my meals with this mentality helps my health and digestion immensely! Way more than a rigid and restrictive plan and protocol ever could ;)
Remember that you nutrition is not mutually exclusive.
That brownie you had for dessert does not cancel out your nutritious meal.
That frappucino you grabbed after yoga class is totally fine.
And salad is still nourishing even if you enjoy it alongside some pizza!
Health and nutrition does not mean removing foods from your diet. It also doesn’t mean labeling foods as “good” or “bad”.
It’s incredible what can happen when we simply focus on feeling good, nourishing our bodies with love, and making mealtimes calmer and more enjoyable.
Just like we have positive associations around ice cream, pizza, roasted marshmallows, holiday treats and birthday cakes, we can also build more positive emotions and associations around nutritious meals. Eating whole foods doesn’t need to mean you are restricting or punishing yourself, but rather it is all just part of an additive, inclusive diet. ALL foods can all fit in a healthy diet.
Focus on what feels good:
Each of us our unique. What makes me feel great may not do the same to you. It is imperative that you focus inward vs outward at all the “shoulds” in the nutrition space. There is no one correct way to eat. We are all unique and each moment of our life is unique. What makes each of us feel our best (mind, body, soul) will look different..and what makes your feel your best may look different from one season of your life to the next.
Explore…
What foods digests well?
Which ones give you the most energy?
What meals bring you joy?
What foods and meals make your life easier and less overwhelming on a busy week?
What foods feel more nourishing in different seasons and weather?
What foods make you feel better when sick, what foods do you crave with your cycle?
If you can keep return back to your body instead of letting your head overthink your food choices, and ask yourself how you feel and what you need, this is a wonderful way to become more intuitive with your eating and allow space to add in what feels best to YOU.If you are looking for support with your nutrition, finding YOUR version of healthy, food freedome and overcoming binge eating…reach out! I always offer free calls and love connecting.